Building on ten years of artistic and cultural achievement, the Art Gallery of South Australia has unveiled the next chapter of its acclaimed Tarnanthi Festival, announcing curator and artist Zali Morgan as artistic director alongside landmark new funding partnerships.

The first program highlights for the 2027 Tarnanthi Festival have also been revealed, including the major survey exhibition Yunupiŋu: Seven Sisters, developed in collaboration with Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre and the Yunupiŋu family; and, Melting Point: Wati Wai!, an ambitious project developed by Mimili Maku Arts and initiated by Yankunytjatjara artist and cultural leader Robert Fielding and the Mimili Maku Wati Studio.

Based near Boorloo/Perth, Morgan is a Noongar woman with ancestral connections to Whadjuk, Balladong and Wilman Boodjar.

She is currently Curator of the Carrolup Collection at John Curtin Gallery, Western Australia, and has curated significant exhibitions including All That Country Holds - Art from the Kimberley, launched at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C. in 2026; and Revealed, Western Australia's premier Aboriginal art showcase, presented at Perth Institute of Contemporary Art in 2025 and 2026.

She has worked closely with private and institutional collections including the Art Gallery of Western Australia, Wesfarmers Arts and Berndt Museum of Anthropology.

"It is both incredibly exciting and deeply humbling to be appointed the artistic director of Tarnanthi," Morgan said.

"As a curator, I'm drawn to the ways art can hold stories, carry knowledge and create connections between people and place.

"I want to approach Tarnanthi with an open heart, listening to artists and communities, following where their ideas lead, and making space for the many different ways culture and contemporary practice can be expressed.

"I'm interested in what happens when artists are empowered to speak on their own terms, and when a festival is less about a single vision and more about a gathering of many voices, stories and ways of seeing. I look forward to working with the Tarnanthi team and growing stronger connections with Kaurna Yarta artists and communities."

Director at AGSA Jason Smith said Morgan brings a strong curatorial vision, deep cultural knowledge and steadfast commitment to community-led practice.

"Zali brings a strong curatorial vision, deep cultural knowledge and steadfast commitment to community-led practice," he said.

"Under Zali's leadership, Tarnanthi will continue to champion the vitality and diversity of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art, while creating new opportunities for artists and audiences to connect through meaningful cultural exchange.

"Her appointment marks an exciting new chapter, strengthened by significant new funding commitments which will ensure the Tarnanthi Festival remains Australia's leading First Nations art festival."

The appointment coincides with the announcement of major new partnerships with the South Australian Government and BHP. The South Australian Government will be recognised as Principal Partner of the Tarnanthi Festival through a four-year, $4 million agreement from 2026 to 2030.

"Tarnanthi is a remarkable statewide celebration of art that has created meaningful experiences with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture for more than 2.5 million visitors from across South Australia and beyond," said Kyam Maher, SA Deputy Premier and Minister for Arts.

"I've been fortunate enough to attend every Tarnanthi Festival since its inception and have seen firsthand the enormous impact it has on First Nations artists and their communities."

BHP will renew its decade-long partnership with the Tarnanthi Festival through a new, five-year social investment agreement from 2026 to 2031.

The partnership will support the delivery of the Tarnanthi Festival and year-round programs across South Australia and nationally, with a dedicated focus on regional communities across the state.

"This year marks the eleventh year of BHP's partnership with the Art Gallery of South Australia to deliver the Tarnanthi Festival, which serves as an important platform for First Nations artists to share their work and celebrate culture," said Anna Wiley, Asset President Copper SA, BHP.

"Over that time Tarnanthi has driven economic development, showcased art in regional South Australian communities, and fostered a deeper understanding of culture."

The word tarnanthi (pronounced TAR-nan-dee) comes from the language of the Kaurna people, the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains.

Since its inception in 2015, Tarnanthi has become Australia's foremost First Nations art festival, with more than 2.5 million people visiting Tarnanthi exhibitions and events that have showcased the radical ingenuity and expansive practice of contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and creatives.

Over the last ten years, Tarnanthi has provided a platform for more than 10,000 First Nations artists to present their works of art, building understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art and culture for audiences in Australia and around the world.

"Zali's appointment heralds in a new era of Tarnanthi. This is a brilliant extension to the indelible legacy generated by Nici Cumpston, Lisa Slade and the broader Tarnanthi team over the past decade. I can't wait to welcome Zali and see what the next decade brings," said Cara Kirkwood, Art Gallery Board member.

Opening on the 22nd of October 2027, the 2027 Tarnanthi Festival will showcase a landmark presentation of Yolŋu women's art and culture, Yunupiŋu: Seven Sisters, featuring works by seven sisters from one of Australia's most important artistic families: Gaymala, Gulumbu, Barrupu, Nyapanyapa, Djerrkŋu, Dhopiya and Djakaŋu Yunupiŋu.

The Yunupiŋu sisters were born into an esteemed family of Yolŋu artists and community leaders, whose distinctive worldview has played a significant role in shaping the artistic and cultural landscape of Australia. Yunupiŋu: Seven Sisters assembles paintings, sculpture, works on paper and moving image from public and private collections, revealing each sister's individual practice and the powerful stories expressed through their signature styles. These include stories of female knowledge, wisdom and strength; the sky, sea and stars; fire and cycles of nature; fabric and connections to seafaring trade partners; and the ties that bind us all together. At times each artist painted stories connected to the Djulpan - the Seven Sisters star group, or Pleiades - and together they embodied the Seven Sisters story. The Djulpan theme they share highlights cultural connections linking Yolŋu Country to Asia and the cosmos.

A selection of works by the sisters' father, Gumatj cultural leader Muŋgurrawuy Yunupiŋu, acknowledges the ancestral stories he shared with his daughters and the profound influence of his legacy across generations.

Yunupiŋu: Seven Sisters is a collaboration between AGSA and Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala, northeast Arnhem Land, in close liaison with the Yunupiŋu family. It is co-curated by Siena Mayutu Wurmarri Stubbs, granddaughter of Gaymala Yunupiŋu, alongside Gloria Strzelecki, AGSA's Curator, Collections.

Another major highlight of the 2027 Tarnanthi Festival will be Melting Point: Wati Wai!, bringing together Mimili wati (men) through Country, fire, cars and new ways of making. Grounded in the growing momentum of creative experimentation by wati at the Mimili Maku Wati Studio, Melting Point: Wati Wai!unites artists, community members and specialist technicians to collect, melt and cast salvaged aluminium car parts on Country, Mimili wati, Mimili way.

The award-winning Regional Tarnanthi program will return as part of the 2027 Tarnanthi Festival. Presented in partnership with Country Arts SA and curated by Tarnanthi Regional Curator Marika Davies, a major new exhibition will premiere in Thalpiri/Port Pirie, with further venues to be announced.

The 2027 Tarnanthi Festival will run from the 22nd of October 2027 to the 16th of January 2028, with further program details to be revealed in mid-2027.

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